Attachments in modular conveyor belts

ABSTRACT

A conveyor belt and an attachment element that firmly interlocks into a row of the conveyor belt. In one version, the attachment element includes a base from which two sets of hook-shaped appendages extend. The appendages each include a shank portion extending from the base and a hook portion angling from the shank portion to a distal end. The hook portions of the first set extend in different directions from the hook portions of the second set. Belt modules in the interconnected rows of the conveyor belt have receptacles that open onto an outer surface of the belt. The receptacles are shaped to receive the differently-directed appendages. Blocking surfaces bounding the receptacles constrain the differently-directed appendages against removal. In another version, the attachment element includes a flange that extends outward in a different direction from a set of appendages. The appendages are constrained from exiting the receptacles by the blocking surfaces when the flange contacts an outer blocking surface of the belt. The geometry of the appendages, the receptacles, and other belt structures admit the appendages during insertion from one direction in an assembly condition of the belt, but lock the attachment element in place when the belt is in an assembled conveying condition.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to modular conveyor belts hingedlylinked by hinge pins and, more particularly, to non-integral attachmentsin such conveyor belts.

Conveyor belts are widely used in many industries to transport articles.In the food and beverage industries, modular plastic belts, or chains,are often used because of their cleanability and their ability tooperate with little lubrication. The modular belts are generallyconstructed of a plurality of rows of belt modules arranged side by sideto form a belt row. The modules silo include hinge elements at each end.The hinge elements of consecutive rows are interleaved andinterconnected by hinge pins to construct a conveyor belt of any desiredlength and width.

Usually, these belts form generally flat-top article-conveying surfaces.But some applications require accessories that deviate from the flatarticle-conveying surface. Sideguards, flights, rollers, holddown tabs,guides, and various inserts are just some examples of accessories addedto belts to perform various functions. Flights that extend across thewidth of a belt at regular intervals are often used in transportingarticles up or down inclined paths. Often the flights are integrallyformed coextensive in width with an interleaved module to form aflighted module. Regularly spaced belt rows are then formed entirely offlighted modules to construct a belt with flights extending across thewidth of the belt at regular intervals.

As long as the integral flights do not extend beyond the sides of themodule and do not include any complicated contours or openings,relatively simple molds can be machined to form flighted modules in aninjection molding process. Otherwise, the mold can be expensive anddifficult to use properly.

One shortcoming associated with integral flighted modules is that theymust be made in a separate mold and represented by a separate partnumber from those of the standard non-flighted belt modules with whichthey are interconnected to form a conveyor belt. Another shortcoming isthat, once a flight is damaged, the entire flighted module must bereplaced.

To solve this last problem, detachable flights have been used. But theseusually require attachment to a specially designed base module with aspecially designed receptacle for the flight. Or the flight must beattached to some extra retainer, such as fastener hardware that couldcome loose and contaminate the conveyed product.

To overcome these shortcomings, there is a need for a conveyor belt thataccepts accessory attachments of various configurations, includingcomplicated topographies, without necessarily requiring specialreceptacle modules and without requiring additional fastening hardware.

SUMMARY

This need and others are satisfied by a conveyor belt and attachmentelement having features of the invention. The conveyor belt isconstructed of a plurality of belt modules and hinge pins arranged inrows. Each row includes one or more side-by-side belt modules linked atleading and trailing ends to another row by hinge pins. The resultingbelt has first and second, for example, top and bottom, outer surfaces.At least some of the rows include blocking structure and one or morereceptacles opening onto an outer belt surface. Blocking surfaces formedin the belt modules form at least part of the boundaries, or walls, ofthe receptacles. An attachment element includes a contact member and aset of appendages. The appendages, which are preferably hook-shaped,extend outward from the attachment element. When appendages are insertedin the corresponding receptacles and the contact member is in contactwith the blocking structure of the row, the blocking surfaces constrainthe appendages to keep the attachment element in place in a conveyingcondition of the conveyor belt. This dual interaction of the appendageswith the blocking surfaces of the receptacles and the contact memberwith the blocking structure locks the attachment assembly in place. Inthe conveying condition, each row of the belt generally defines a plane.In an assembly condition, one or more rows deviate from the planarconfiguration. The assembly condition can be achieved, for example, byremoving a hinge pin from one end of a row of side-by-side modules. Inthe assembly condition, the dual interaction is absent and theappendages can be inserted into or removed from the receptacles.

In one version of the conveyor belt and attachment element, the contactmember on the attachment is realized by one or more of a second set ofappendages alternately arranged along the attachment element with thefirst-mentioned set. Each set is differently directed and can beinserted into or removed from the receptacles only in the assemblycondition of a belt row.

In another version, the contact member is a hooked-shaped appendage thatcontacts a hinge pin's lateral surface, which serves as blockingstructure and acts in tandem with blocking surfaces bounding theassociated receptacles in the belt row to keep the appendages firmly inplace.

In still another version, the contact member is a flange extendingoutward from the attachment member along its base. The first or secondouter surface of the belt row serves as the blocking structure. In theassembly condition of the belt, the flange is out of contact with theblocking structure, and the attachment member can be inserted into andremoved from the belt. In the conveying condition, the flange contactsthe outer belt surface and, together with the interaction of theblocking surfaces of the receptacles with the appendages, keeps theattachment member in place.

The appendages, in a preferred version, include a shank portionextending from the attachment element with a distal hook portion anglingaway from the shank portion. The angle at which the hook portion extendsfrom the shank portion determines the insertion angle at which theattachment element is oriented for its appendages to be inserted intoand removed from the receptacles.

These various versions of attachment schemes allow for a variety ofattachment elements with accessory portions of various functions andtopographies to be incorporated into standard belt modules. Theattachment elements can be tailored to the application or replaced whenthey are damaged or wear out without replacing the entire belt. The dualinteraction of the appendages with the blocking surfaces and of thecontact member with the blocking structure ensures a firm connection ofthe attachment element to the belt without extra fasteners that couldcome loose and contaminate conveyed products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages, features, and aspects of the invention aredescribed in more detail in the following description, appended claims,and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a portion of a conveyor belt andattachment element embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the attachment element of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the conveyor belt and attachment element ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the conveyor belt and attachment element ofFIG. 1 taken along line 4—4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a pictorial view of the conveyor belt and attachment elementof FIG. 1, illustrating the insertion of the attachment element into thebelt;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of another version of attachment elementembodying features of the invention retained partly by a hinge pin;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation cross-section of a belt module with theattachment element of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom isometric view of yet another version of attachmentelement embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 9A is a top isometric view of an attachment element as in FIG. 8connected into one row of a conveyor belt in a conveying condition ofthe belt;

FIG. 9B is a top isometric view as in FIG. 9A with the conveyor belt inan assembly condition; and

FIG. 10 is a side cross-section of the conveyor belt and attachmentelement of FIG. 9A taken along line 10—10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a portion of a conveyor belt and an attachment elementembodying features of the invention. FIGS. 2-4 show further details ofthe version shown in FIG. 1. The conveyor belt 11, in this version amodular conveyor belt, is made up of rows 12 of belt modules 14, 15, 16,17. The modules are arranged preferably in a bricklaid fashion in whichthe seams, or gaps, between consecutively arranged side-by-side modulesare discontinuous from row to row. For example, as best seen in FIG. 3,the seam 18 between modules 14 and 15 is not continuous with the seam 19between modules 15 and 17 of the adjacent row. This increases thestrength of the belt. Each module extends from a first end 20 to asecond end 21 at which are formed respective hinge elements 22, 23.Holes 24 formed in the hinge elements receive hinge pins 26, which areretained in a conventional manner. The hinge pins may be headed orheadless. The hinge elements 22 of one row are interleaved with thehinge elements 23 of an adjacent row and interlinked hingedly by hingepins into a conveyor belt of any desired length and width depending onthe size and numbers of modules used. One such belt is the INTRALOXSeries 400 Flush Grid belt manufactured by Intralox, Inc. of Harahan,La., USA. Other similar modular plastic belts can also be used. Themodules of these belts are typically formed by injection molding usingthermoplastic materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester,and acetal. But metal and machined belt modules may also be used.

The belt modules include structure 28 that forms a series of receptacles30 opening onto a first outer surface 34—in this example, a topsurface—of the belt. (In other versions of the belt, the receptaclesopen onto a second outer surface 35, such as a bottom surface of thebelt.) As shown in the example of FIGS. 1 and 3, the receptacles areuniformly spaced across the width of each belt row.

An attachment element 36—in this example, a flight—is attached along onerow of the belt. Because the flight shown extends past the width of thebelt, it would be difficult to make such a flight integrally molded withthe belt modules. The attachment element includes an accessory portion38 (the flight portion) and a preferably rigid base 40 along a side ofthe accessory portion. Extending from the base, better shown in FIGS. 2and 4, are a first set 42 of appendages 44 and a second set 43 ofappendages 45. The appendages of each set shown are generally identical,but need not necessarily be so. Each appendage has a shank portion 46extending from the base of the attachment element with a hook portion 48extending from the shank portion opposite the base. The hook portionpreferably angles obliquely from the shank portion at a hook angle a,shown here as an obtuse angle. As shown in FIG. 2, the hook-shapedappendages 44 of the first set 42 extend in a first direction and theappendages 45 of the second set 43 extend in a different seconddirection. In the version shown, the appendages are mirror images ofeach other and extend in opposite directions along the direction of belttravel toward leading and trailing belt rows.

As shown in the cross-section of FIG. 4, the intermediate structure 28of the conveyor belt modules includes a blocking surface 50 that forms awall defining a boundary of the receptacle 30. The hook-shaped appendage45 is shaped to complement the shape of the blocking surface. In thereceptacles shown, the walls angle downward and outward from the top toform individual receptacles that also serve to act as drive pockets forthe teeth of drive or idler sprockets. Depending on the placement of thesprockets across the width of the belt, it may be necessary to eliminateone or more appendages, such as the missing appendage at position 52, soas not to interfere with the sprocket teeth. Alternatively, thereceptacle walls need not define drive pockets and could be parallel tothe outer belt surface without forming individual pockets.

The attachment of the attachment element 36 to two adjacent side-by-sidebelt modules 16, 17 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The attachment is shownin FIG. 5 with its second set 43 of appendages 45 already attached tothe second belt modules 17. As shown in the cross-section of FIG. 4,when the attachment element is in its operational position in aconveying condition of the belt, the appendages are retained in thereceptacles, blocked from retreating vertically. Thus, each of theappendages of the second set acts as a contact member in contact withblocking structure in the belt module formed by the blocking surface. Asshown in FIG. 5, the hook-shaped appendages 44 of the first set 42 areinserted into the receptacles along an insertion angle β, determined bythe geometry of the appendages and the size of the receptacle openings.In particular, the hook angle α is roughly equal to the insertion angleβ with some leeway on either side. Thus, by tilting the attachmentelement relative to the outer surface of the belt and aligning theappendages with the receptacle openings, one can insert the first set ofappendages into the first module. Then, by rotating the attachmentelement relative to the belt module into the operational conveyingposition, one can lock the attachment in place. Because the second setof appendages nestled in the receptacles of the second module aredirected opposite to the first set nestled in the first module, theattachment element is firmly locked in place once the row is connectedinto the belt at one or both ends with hinge pins. For relativelyinflexible belt modules, the side-by-side modules must be free, by theabsence of at least one hinge pin, to be oriented differently duringassembly to admit the appendages without interference. Once thereceptacles are admitted, the modules can be rotated to form a generallyplanar row and a hinge pin inserted to fix the row in a conveyingcondition.

Another version of attachment element is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Theattachment element 56, like the attachment element 36, could include oneof a variety of accessory portions. The attachment element 56 includes abase 58 from which extend two kinds of hook-shaped appendages. A firstset 60 of appendages 62 is similar in form and function to theappendages of the attachment element 36. Flanking the first set ofappendages are second sets 64 of appendages 66. (In this version, eachsecond set includes only a single appendage.) Each appendage 66 includesa shank portion 68 and an elongated hook portion 70 extending at about90° from the shank portion. The elongated hook portion 70 extends in theopposite direction (toward the opposite end of the module) of the hookportion of the first set 60 of appendages 62 and serves as a contactmember. To accommodate each elongated appendage, a single hinge element22 is removed from a belt module 17 to expose a portion of the hinge pin26. The elongated hook portion 70 resides in the space left by theremoved hinge element with its distal end retained by the lateralsurface of the exposed hinge pin. The lateral surface serves as blockingstructure. The base of the attachment element includes a horizontalextension 72 for added support. Alternatively, the elongated hookportions could extend in either direction. Furthermore, the elongatedhook portion could be shaped to essentially replace the removed hingeelement. In this case, the elongated hook portion would be taller thanthe example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 so as to be coextensive from top tobottom with the hinge elements. An opening or a notch at the distal endof the elongated hook portion would encompass the blocking hinge pincompletely or partially. These versions of attachments are, in someways, easier to install into a row of belt modules because theappendages of the first set all fit in the same direction into thereceptacles along the row, while the elongated appendages do not have tobe inserted into the receptacles because they are retained, not by thestructure of the module, but by the hinge pin.

Another version of attachment element is shown in FIG. 8. Thisattachment element 74 includes a flighted accessory portion 75 and aplanar base 76. The accessory flight has a front article-contactingsurface 78 supported by ribs 80. A set of hook-shaped appendages 82extends outward generally perpendicularly from the base. The appendagesare similar to those of the previous versions. The hook portions of allthe appendages angle from the shank portions in the same direction. Anub 87 formed on the shank portion of the outermost appendages near thebase removes play in the receptacles and helps stabilize the attachmentelement in place. Also extending from the base of the attachment elementare flanges 84, 84′ that flank the appendages and form a contact surface85, 85′ generally perpendicular to the outwardly extending appendagesand coplanar with the base.

The attachment element is inserted into a belt row as shown in FIG. 9Binto the locked position of FIGS. 9A and 10. In the belt assemblycondition of FIG. 9B, edge modules 86, 86′ are free to pivot relative toan interior module 87 because no hinge pin interconnects the modules atthe end in the foreground of FIG. 9B. This allows the appendages to beinserted into associated mating receptacles 30 opening onto the topsurface 34 of the interior module 87. The edge modules must be pivotedout of the way into a non-coplanar relationship with the interiormodules. Otherwise, the contact surfaces 85, 85′, by contact with thetop outer surface 34′ of the edge modules, would obstruct the appendagesfrom being inserted. Grooves 88 formed along an edge of the base of theattachment element are sized and spaced to provide clearance for thehinge elements 22 of the internal module during assembly. Once theappendages are in place in the receptacles and the attachment element isrotated to its operational position, the edge modules 86, 86′ arealigned to be generally coplanar with the interior module 87 in anassembled, operational conveying condition of the belt. A hinge pin 26inserted through aligned holes 24 in the hinge elements maintains theside-by-side arrangement of the row and interconnects it to an adjacentrow (not shown). In the conveying condition of the belt, shown in FIGS.9A and 10, the basal flanges act as contact members that are in contactwith the top outer surface 34′ of the row. In this way, the top outersurface acts as a blocking surface to prevent the hook-shaped appendagesfrom backing out of the receptacles. The dual interaction of theappendages 82 with the constraining blocking surfaces 50 of thereceptacles 30 and of the contact member, or flange, with the top outersurface, or blocking surface, of the row locks the attachment elementfirmly in place in the belt.

Thus, the conveyor belt and attachment elements described provide anattachment element with any number of custom characteristics that can befirmly attached to a standard belt row.

The invention has been described with respect to a few specific versionsof conveyor belt and attachment elements, but other variations arepossible. For example, the contact member of an attachment element couldcontact blocking structure in another belt row. As another example, eachrow could include multiple attachment elements with blocking structurethat could interact too in a conveying condition of the belt to blocktheir removal. As yet another example, each row could be constructed ofa single flexible belt module capable of being twisted from a generallyplanar shape in a conveying condition to a non-planar shape in anassembly condition with hinge pins removed to permit the attachmentelement to be inserted into or removed from the row. As these fewexamples suggest, those skilled in the art will appreciate that otherversions are possible without materially departing from the novelteaching and advantages of the invention. The invention defined in thefollowing claims is not meant to be limited to the examples described indetail.

What is claimed is:
 1. A conveyor belt comprising: a plurality of beltmodules and hinge pins forming a plurality of rows of belt moduleshingedly linked end to end by hinge pins into a conveyor belt havingouter belt surfaces; at least some of the rows including blockingstructure and one or more receptacles opening onto an outer beltsurface, the receptacles bounded at least partly by blocking surfacesformed in the belt modules; an attachment element including a set ofappendages and a contact member, the set of appendages extendingoutwardly from the attachment element, wherein the attachment element isfirmly attached to the conveyor belt with the set of appendages insertedin the receptacles and constrained by the blocking surfaces while thecontact member of the attachment element is in contact with the blockingstructure.
 2. A conveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein the appendages arehook-shaped.
 3. A conveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein the set ofappendages includes a plurality of appendages.
 4. A conveyor belt as inclaim 3, wherein the appendages are linearly arranged.
 5. A conveyorbelt as in claim 3, wherein the appendages are shaped the same.
 6. Aconveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein the appendages and the blockingstructure are complementarily shaped.
 7. A conveyor belt as in claim 1,wherein the appendages include a shank portion extending from theattachment element and a hook portion angling from the shank portion. 8.A conveyor belt as in claim 7, wherein the hook portion angles from theshank portion at an obtuse angle.
 9. A conveyor belt as in claim 7,wherein the hook portion of the appendages angles from the shank portiontoward a leading belt row and wherein the contact member includes ashank portion extending from the attachment element and a hook portionangling from the shank portion toward a trailing belt row.
 10. Aconveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein an outer belt surface forms theblocking structure.
 11. A conveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein thecontact member comprises a flange extending outward from the attachmentmember generally perpendicular to the outwardly extending appendages.12. A conveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein the set of appendages isinserted in one module in a belt row and the contact member is incontact with the blocking structure of another module in the row.
 13. Aconveyor belt as in claim 1, wherein a hinge pin along the row forms theblocking structure on its lateral surface.
 14. A conveyor belt as inclaim 1, wherein the contact member of the attachment element contactsblocking structure on the same row.
 15. A conveyor belt comprising: aplurality of rows of belt modules hingedly linked end to end into aconveyor belt having first and second outer belt surfaces; at least someof the rows including belt modules having structure forming a series ofreceptacles spaced apart across the width of the row and opening onto anouter belt surface; an attachment element including a rigid base andfirst and second sets of appendages, the sets alternately arranged toextend from the base to distal ends, wherein distal ends of the firstset of appendages extend in one direction and the distal ends of thesecond set extend in a different direction; and wherein the attachmentelement is firmly attached to the conveyor belt by inserting the firstset of appendages into the receptacles in a first module of a row and byinserting the second set of differently-directed appendages into thereceptacles in a second module of the row.
 16. A conveyor belt as inclaim 15, wherein the distal ends of the appendages of the second setare directed opposite to the distal ends of the appendages of the firstset.
 17. A conveyor belt as in claim 15, wherein the distal ends of theappendages of the first set extend toward a leading end of the firstmodule in a row of the conveyor belt and the distal ends of theappendages of the second set extend toward a trailing end of the secondmodule in the row.
 18. A conveyor belt as in claim 15, wherein each setincludes a plurality of appendages.
 19. A conveyor belt as in claim 18,wherein the appendages of each set are uniformly spaced along the baseof the attachment element.
 20. A conveyor belt as in claim 18, whereinthe appendages of each set are identical to one another.
 21. A conveyorbelt as in claim 15, wherein the appendages are shaped to match acomplementary-shaped portion of the associated receptacles.
 22. Aconveyor belt as in claim 15, wherein the outer surface of the modulesmust be tilted relative to the base of the attachment element for thereceptacles to receive the appendages.
 23. A conveyor belt as in claim15, wherein the attachment element is a flight and wherein thereceptacles open onto the first outer belt surface, which is a top beltsurface.
 24. A conveyor belt comprising: a plurality of rows of beltmodules hingedly linked end to end into a conveyor belt having outerbelt surfaces; at least some of the rows including belt modules havingstructure forming a series of receptacles spaced apart across the widthof the row and opening onto an outer belt surface; an attachment elementincluding a basal flange and a set of hook-like appendages, wherein theappendages include a shank portion extending from the attachment elementand a hook portion angling from the shank portion; and wherein thereceptacles are shaped to admit the appendages along an insertion anglefor which the basal flange element avoids contact with the outer beltsurfaces of the row and to block the appendages from removal when thebasal flange contacts an outer belt surface.
 25. An attachment elementfor a conveyor belt comprising: an accessory portion; a base along aside of the accessory portion; and a set of appendages including a shankportion extending from the base and a hook portion extending from theshank portion opposite the base; and a contact member extending from thebase in a different direction from the set of appendages.
 26. Anattachment element for a conveyor belt as in claim 25, wherein thecontact member comprises a flange extending generally perpendicular tothe shank portion.
 27. An attachment element as in claim 25, wherein thehook portion extends obliquely from the shank portion.
 28. An attachmentelement as in claim 25, wherein the set of appendages includes aplurality of appendages.
 29. An attachment element for a conveyor belt,comprising: an accessory portion; a base extending along a side of theaccessory portion; a set of hook-like appendages extending outward fromthe base; and a pair of flanges flanking the set of hook-like appendagesand extending in a direction different from the hook-like appendages.30. An attachment element as in claim 29, wherein the base forms aplanar surface from which the hook-like appendages extendperpendicularly and wherein the flanges include surfaces coplanar withthe planar surface of the base.
 31. A conveyor belt comprising: aplurality of belt modules and hinge pins forming a plurality of rows ofbelt modules hingedly linked end to end by hinge pins into a conveyorbelt having top and bottom outer belt surfaces, wherein each rowgenerally defines a plane in a conveying condition of the belt andwherein each row deviates from a plane in an assembly condition of thebelt; at least some of the rows including blocking structure and one ormore receptacles opening onto an outer belt surface, the receptaclesbounded at least partly by blocking surfaces formed in the belt modules;an attachment element including a set of appendages and a contactmember, the set of appendages extending outwardly from the attachmentelement in one direction and the contact member extending in a differentdirection, wherein the set of appendages is insertable into andremovable from the receptacles in the assembly condition of the belt andwherein the dual interaction of the set of appendages in the receptacleswith the blocking surfaces and of the contact member with the blockingstructure retains the attachment element firmly in place in theconveying condition of the belt.
 32. A conveyor belt as in claim 31,wherein each belt row includes a plurality of side-by-side belt modulesand each row is convertible to the assembly condition in the absence ofa hinge pin along an end of the row.